What makes a city like Austin/Portland so hipster cool and not a city like Tampa Bay? (Houston: fit in, apartment)

[KLDESQ]

With all due respect to Austin, I don't see anything even remotely similar to Portland. We moved from Portland to Austin in June and are counting the months to when we can move back. We live in Westlake and while the schools are strong (Eanes) life in ATX is very hard. Everything is so far away, the traffic is horrible and the restaurants are among the worst we've ever experienced. Downtown Austin is anything but charming. I will say that whoever the PR person for Austin is should get a raise, since the positive spin around Austin is amazing (my wife and I got sucked into it) but if you put aside no state income taxes, Austin (and the rest of Texas IMHO) is a total armpit. Longing for the rain and the good life of the NW.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by elan

I hope Austin is still non-conformist, I trust people can still think outside the box. It can have hipsters, but the city itself shouldn't be hipster. When I think Austin, I think independent minded creative people. Where else can you walk into a taco joint and sit down with a hippie, a cowboy, a student, a state senator, an artist and now I guess a hipster. It's been three years since I visited and now that I think about it I actually spent most of that time by Dripping Springs. Do send out an SOS if help is needed for a rebellion. Keep it real, I mean weird.

Huzzah!

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by KLDESQ

With all due respect to Austin, I don't see anything even remotely similar to Portland. We moved from Portland to Austin in June and are counting the months to when we can move back. We live in Westlake and while the schools are strong (Eanes) life in ATX is very hard. Everything is so far away, the traffic is horrible and the restaurants are among the worst we've ever experienced. Downtown Austin is anything but charming. I will say that whoever the PR person for Austin is should get a raise, since the positive spin around Austin is amazing (my wife and I got sucked into it) but if you put aside no state income taxes, Austin (and the rest of Texas IMHO) is a total armpit. Longing for the rain and the good life of the NW.

I like how this morning you decided to get up, have some coffee, and use your first post to trash Austin.

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Good point.




According to some recent lists that have come out you are wrong, in fact Houston was near the top.... any of these cities right now attracting large numbers of young professionals are having new restaurants, galleries, apartments etc. popping up and a "cool" scene.... not to mention it was already non-conformist with the lack of zoning, gay mayor, and libertarian attitudes.

My opinion is not wrong. And those opinions that say otherwise are also not wrong. It's about perspective.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by ognend

Have you actually spent any time living in Florida? How about anywhere else aside from Austin? I have lived in Europe, Canada, Missouri, New York City, Florida, Texas.... Most people treat Florida like it is discardable but that's because it is a tourist destination (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas kind of a mentality). Key West is a nice place, so are many little towns along the coast. You could have a boat and sail to the islands, chill out and just enjoy life. Inland Florida has a much older tradition of tending cattle and cowboying than Texas. Just because it has not been popularized in Hollywood movies.... I take the time to study the history of every place I have lived in (except Missouri, living there was not by choice ) - you would be amazed how colorful the history of Florida is. As colorful, if not more, than that of TX.

Florida like many other states has its problems, it ain't paradise. There are a lot of poor people and trailers but hey, I think the most trailers I have ever seen in my life (after New Mexico) is actually in Texas!

Take the time to KNOW a place and then talk about it
OD

I agree with this in regard to Florida having a lot to offer. The Tampa Bay area, which this thread is about, is absolutely gorgeous. They have beautiful beaches and turquoise clear water. There are numerous housing and apartment complexes around the bay where you can keep a boat, and many restaurants and clubs that you can boat to and tie up at their dock for dinner or entertainment. A couple of our boating buddies that we met here in Austin moved to Tampa Bay area to retire for just that reason. In terms of percentages there are lots more young people in Austin. But in terms of actual numbers, the demographics charts that I posted images of earlier //www.city-data.com/forum/26191053-post22.html show that there are more people of retirement age in Austin then there are in Tampa Bay.

[wehotex]

[quote=EzPeterson;26187732]You do realize that far more people move here from the Upper midwest/great lakes and the northeast than move here from CA, right? Or did you just buy into the "I hate CA" hype?


Where did you get that idea?

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Good point.




According to some recent lists that have come out you are wrong, in fact Houston was near the top.... any of these cities right now attracting large numbers of young professionals are having new restaurants, galleries, apartments etc. popping up and a "cool" scene.... not to mention it was already non-conformist with the lack of zoning, gay mayor, and libertarian attitudes.

I would agree with that. Houston has always had a hip culture. But like with all of the metros, the hip scene becomes unaffordable to the ones that made it "hip" in the first place. Just look at Lower Westheimer. It was slummy back in the late 80s. Rich ppl moved in, high rises etc. It's a shadow of what it was.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by wehotex

Where did you get that idea?

You may want to try the IRS website. They have an annual report, but if I remember right it is by county and not cities.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

But in terms of actual numbers, the demographics charts that I posted images of earlier //www.city-data.com/forum/26191053-post22.html show that there are more people of retirement age in Austin then there are in Tampa Bay.

You used C-D which only uses city limits. This causes problems with tiny cities like Tampa in huge metro areas like it has when comparing it to a city like Austin which has around half its metro population in its city limits. You have to remember that while Tampa is the largest city population wise in this metro, it is only a small city of about 325,000 in metro of over 4 million people. When you use C-D you are only looking at the 325,000 for Tampa, while for Austin you are looking at 820,000 in a metro of 1,700,000. Some quick math and you are using only like 8% of Tampa's population and around 50% of Austin's.

It is easy to uses such tricks to get a type of result you may be trying to do, but anyone that has been to Austin & Tampa, knows that it could not possibly be further from the truth. Try using its metro populations, or using county populations. Because using C-D is always going to give you screwy results when comparing cities due to only using city-limits.

Here is a website with much more and more accurate info: http://www.census.gov/

I can assure you that if you only used a small area of central Austin that was the size of Tampa then your data would be significantly different and a much more accurate comparison.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by CptnRn
But in terms of actual numbers, the demographics charts that I posted images of earlier //www.city-data.com/forum/26191053-post22.html show that there are more people of retirement age in Austin then there are in Tampa Bay.

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

You used C-D which only uses city limits. This causes problems with tiny cities like Tampa in huge metro areas like it has when comparing it to a city like Austin which has around half its metro population in its city limits. You have to remember that while Tampa is the largest city population wise in this metro, it is only a small city of about 325,000 in metro of over 4 million people. When you use C-D you are only looking at the 325,000 for Tampa, while for Austin you are looking at 820,000 in a metro of 1,700,000. Some quick math and you are using only like 8% of Tampa's population and around 50% of Austin's.

It is easy to uses such tricks to get a type of result you may be trying to do, but anyone that has been to Austin & Tampa, knows that it could not possibly be further from the truth. Try using its metro populations, or using county populations. Because using C-D is always going to give you screwy results when comparing cities due to only using city-limits.

Here is a website with much more and more accurate info: Census Bureau Homepage

I can assure you that if you only used a small area of central Austin that was the size of Tampa then your data would be significantly different and a much more accurate comparison.

You are right, I should have said:

Originally Posted by CptnRn
But in terms of actual numbers, the demographics charts that I posted images of earlier //www.city-data.com/forum/26191053-post22.html show that there are more people of retirement age in Austin then there are in ALL OF TAMPA, FL.

The OP was about comparing Tampa Bay, which is a very small part of Tampa, to Austin. I generously included ALL of Tampa in my comparison. If you think you can demonstrate data that says otherwise, then show us the data with links to support your claims. I'm not going to do your homework for you.